No. 1-seed Gonzaga and 4-seed Florida State will face off in the Sweet 16 at 7:09 p.m. ET on Thursday, the first of the regional semifinal games.

Curiously, this game is a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 meeting between these two teams: FSU, a 9-seed, beat 4-seed Gonzaga 75-60 to advance to the Elite Eight behind scoring leader Terance Mann, who returns for the rematch. Will be it a repeat of last year's game, or will Zags Sporting News All-Americans Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke will their team to victory?

Best individual matchup

Hachimura vs. Kabengele. There are a number of notable elements regarding this potential matchup. First, Kabengele comes off the bench, so Hachimura will have another primary assignment. Second, Hachimura is not considered to be an exceptional defender, but there is no other natural matchup to deal with the threat of FSU’s sixth man. Kabengele has six 20-point games this season, and two of them have been in the NCAA Tournament. Some of that may have been mid-major competition, but it also could be that he’d figuring out how to have the greatest impact. If Hachimura is not the player to defend him, it might be Clarke — which would take him away from the goal — or someone either more accustomed to defending the lane or several inches shorter. It’ll be a tricky call for the Zags.

Most eye-popping stat

Gonzaga not only is the No. 1 offensive team in college basketball according to KenPom.com, but also 2.6 points better per 100 possessions than any other team, starting with Virginia, which is second in offensive efficiency. Among all Division I teams in offensive efficiency, the only team to rank more than two points better than the next team behind it is No. 349 Coppin State, which is 2.1 points ahead of No. 350 Alabama A&M.

Gonzaga wins if …

The Bulldogs don’t lose patience on offense and stick with consistently getting the ball to dangerous areas of the floor. We saw Saint Mary’s successfully strangle the Gonzaga offense in the West Coast Conference championship game, in which wing Zach Norvell shot 1 of 11 from the field trying to force action. He can be a game-changing offensive player, but he has to know when he’s changing it for the better. Clarke and Hachimura got only 14 shots combined in that game. FSU’s defense should be even more effective; those two cannot be sealed off from access to the ball.

Florida State wins if …

The Seminoles are able to prevent the Zags from turning this into a faster-paced game. FSU has three victories this month against teams still standing in the Sweet 16, and didn’t hit the 75-point mark in any of them. In a half-court game, the Seminoles could create a lot of discomfort for Perkins, who runs the show for Gonzaga and shot only 3 of 9 from the field when matched against FSU in this round a year ago. The Seminoles care less about who scores the points than any team in this tournament — not just in the sense of being unselfish, but in terms of having the ability to pick the matchup that works the best for that particular game. They’ll play nine or 10 players and they’ll get opportunities for those who make the most sense at the moment.